EF1 tornado in Henry County, Kentucky

NWS Louisville conducted a storm damage survey near and in the

town of Port Royal and determined an EF-1 tornado with 90mph

winds impacted the community. The tornado first touched down east

of Gullion Branch Road and caused scattered tree damage. Damage in

these areas consisted of snapped tree trunks and broken limbs.

The tornado then moved into the town of Port Royal and did the most

significant damage near Port Royal Road. A pole barn was

completely destroyed, and its debris was carried more than a

quarter mile to the ENE. Several other structures had roof and

siding damage. Several trees were snapped or sheared apart, with

roof debris wrapping around some of the trees. Tree debris was in

a convergent pattern, with most of it pointing towards the SE to

NE. Nearby vehicles had mud splatter from the

tornado as it tore through that portion of the town. One vehicle

was picked up and moved several feet and turned 90 degrees.

The tornado then pushed east of Port Royal Road and mainly

impacted trees. The observed damage was consistent with high end

EF0 to low end EF1 damage. The tornado then lifted in a field as

damage could no longer be observed by drone to the east.

A line of showers and thunderstorms developed in the early morning hours of February 10, 2024, ahead of a cold front in an environment that had very strong shear but little instability. The storms, mainly in southern Indiana and portions of north-central Kentucky, ended up morphing into a convective line that produced both wind damage and a couple of isolated tornadoes before weakening and pushing east of the region by sunrise. A total of two small, short-lived EF-1 tornadoes developed with the line, one in southern Indiana and one is central Kentucky.